The Delhi & Districts Cricket Association (DDCA) on Tuesday suspended its secretary Vinod Tihara on charges of bringing disrepute to the organization and attempts to "usurp the power" of the board of directors, only a month after he had assumed office. The decision was taken at the EC meeting where 12 out of the 15 members supported the decision to suspend Tihara as he had allegedly tried to challenge the functioning powers of president Rajat Sharma. The decision was taken after Tihara tried to stop all the appointments sanctioned by the DDCA president after taking approval from the ...

Known for hitting aces against the odds, Sania Mirza has once again hit a brilliant return to shut down a Twitter troll who asked the Indian Tennis ace to celebrate her Independence Day with Pakistan. Sania is never short of words and always seems to have the best possible reply whenever the miscreants target her on social media. On Tuesday, the 31-year old once again gave a fitting reply to those questioning her loyalty to her country. Sania Mirza Replies to Troll on Pakistan's Independence Day_Twitter One of Twitter users, Romeo Gold 2.0 tweeted to the ace tennis player, "Happy ...

Sri Lanka beat South Africa by three wickets in the one-off T20I chasing down a total of 99 at the R Premadasa Stadium, Colombo on Tuesday. Sri Lanka beat South Africa by three wickets in the one-off T20I chasing down a paltry total of 99 at the R Premadasa Stadium, Colombo on Tuesday. After the Sri Lankan spinners, lead by Lakshan Sandakan's (3/19) shot out South Africa for the lowest ever T20I score of 98, a returning Dinesh Chandimal 36* guided his team to victory with four overs to spare. Sri Lanka did not have a good start to the chase as Kagiso Rabada picked two key wickets in the first over of the chase in the form of openers Kusal Perera (3) and Kusal Mendis (1), but Dhananjaya de Silva and Chandimal combined for a stand of 53 runs for the third wicket to put Sri Lanka back on track. Junior Dala and Tabraiz Shamsi scalped de Silva (31) and skipper Angelo Mathews (0) in consecutive overs as Sri Lanka went on to lose five wickets for 40 runs. However, Sri Lanka managed to overhaul the target with ...

Two-time world champion Fernando Alonso announced today that he will retire from Formula One at the end of the season after his recent struggles with underachieving McLaren. The 37-year-old Spaniard -- who has 32 Grand Prix wins to his credit in 17 seasons -- has become increasingly disenchanted with Formula One as the once all-powerful McLaren team have fallen way off the pace. Alonso -- who in 2005 became the youngest ever Formula One world champion while driving for Renault before defending his title the following year -- has garnered 44 points this season and is ninth in the drivers' championship. Alonso went on to drive for McLaren for a year in 2007 followed by a return to Renault and then four years at Ferrari, before beginning his second spell with McLaren in 2015. "I have seen you (Formula One) changing, sometimes for good, others, in my opinion, for bad," said Alonso, who on three occasions finished runner-up in the drivers' championship while at Ferrari. "And this year, ...

Ben Stokes took 4/40 in India's second innings at Edbgaston. @Getty Images Hours after he was cleared by the Bristol Crown Court on charges of affray, Ben Stokes has been recalled to England's squad for the third Test against India starting Saturday at Trent Bridge. Stokes had missed the Lord's Test as he appeared in court, and his place went to Warwickshire allrounder Chris Woakes who was named Man of the Match for scoring his maiden Test century and taking four wickets in an innings victory for England. The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) named an unchanged squad for the third Test at Trent Bridge starting Saturday, and in a brief statement said it would review Stokes' position following the conclusion of the trial. As it panned out, the ECB did not waste time in adding Stokes to the squad for Trent Bridge once he was handed a unanimous not guilty verdict after two-and-a-half hours of deliberation by 12-member jury on Tuesday. "Ben Stokes will now join the England squad for the 3rd Test against ...

Dinesh Chandimal copped a ban for two Tests and four ODIs for his ball-tampering protest. @Getty Images Dinesh Chandimal has returned to international cricket after serving a six-match ban, served by the ICC as the maximum possible punishment for the spirit of cricket offence in the West Indies in June, slotting back into Sri Lanka's XI for the one-off Twenty20 international against South Africa in Colombo on Tuesday. Chandimal, 28, was handed a one-Test ban by the ICC following the ball-tampering scandal during a Test match in St Lucia for breaching the spirit of the game. He and Sri Lanka coach Chandika Hathurusingha and manager Asanka Gurusinha were banned for refusing to take to the field for two hours during the second Test against West Indies in June, which came after Chandimal was accused of tampering with the ball. Chandimal, Sri Lanka's Test captain, was subsequently banned from the third Test against West Indies and two more Tests and four ODIs after pleading guilty to violating the spirit of ...

The National Anti Doping Agency's appeals panel today exonerated 400m hurdler Jithin Paul of doping charges, overturning a four-year suspension sentence handed by NADA's disciplinary panel. NADA's Anti Doping Appeals Panel (ADAP), headed by Justice R V Easwar, set aside the Anti Doping Disciplinary Panel's (ADDP) verdict of four-year suspension after the athlete approached the appeals panel. Paul, an India international, is free to compete from tomorrow. Paul was accused of possessing banned substance meldonium in his room at NIS Patiala during a search and seizure operation carried out by Dope Control Officer (DCO) of NADA. Paul's legal team argued that search and seizure can only be conducted by law enforcement agencies such as police, customs etc. "NADA cannot assume powers of law enforcement agencies. Our stand has been vindicated," Paul's advocate Parth Goswami told PTI. A per law, powers of search and seizure cannot be exercised by NADA, which is not a law enforcement ...

The Indian cricket team is presently facing all sorts of criticism after their shambolic performance in the first two Tests against England. The manner in which the world number one ranked Test team has surrendered has been nothing short of surprising for their fans and critics all around the world. Virat Kohli and Co. are trailing 0-2 in the five-match Test rubber against England and are standing on the verge of another series defeat on English soil. Former England opener Geoffrey Boycott was scathing in his criticism of the Indian team, terming the visitors' batting performance "naive, ...